Universal Music Australia president George Ash has released a statement following the major’s acquisition of EMI Music and subsequent redundancies reported yesterday.

The Aussie boss said that the redundancies were “unfortunate” but that key creative areas of EMI Music Australia would be strengthened.

He also confirmed that EMI would be maintained as a standalone company in order to maintain its heritage in the Australian market.

The full statement from Ash can be read below:

“Following our acquisition of EMI Music Australia, we are excited to confirm that we are expanding key creative areas of the company as part of our ongoing integration of and investment in the EMI business. Our approach has been to ensure that we protect EMI and its heritage in the Australian market and so EMI is being maintained as a standalone company, focused on continuing to be a creative powerhouse with a distinct culture, signing and breaking artists and being an entrepreneurial leader.

“While this restructuring has unfortunately resulted in some redundancies, EMI is retaining a significant portion of its people with its own dedicated Marketing, Promotions and A&R functions. The company will have integrated and expanded services within our business in shared areas such as sales, licensing, new business, merchandising, catalogue, finance and supply chain. It will be based at Munn Reserve The Rocks in Sydney from Monday the 4th of Feb.

“It is essential that UMG, now with the addition of EMI, becomes an even more agile and efficient company, not just for this year or the next but for years to come. Our goal is to maximize the resources available to us to continually reinvest in our company so we can do what we best: find, develop and promote artists, increase the output of new music and expand opportunities for digital innovation.

“This is an exciting time for EMI’s artists and people as we invest to reinvigorate the business and its position in the Australian market. The company has huge gravitas with the creative community and a history in Australia that is unparalleled. A new head for EMI will be appointed shortly and announcements of key roles will be confirmed soon.”